


Ethereal Hair

by tigereyes45



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Future, Drinking, M/M, One Night Stands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:41:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26133652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigereyes45/pseuds/tigereyes45
Summary: Having just dropped out of college, Toby wants nothing more than to have a little fun. Any at all to combat this nagging feeling of wanting something. Just someone to talk too. Jim and Claire are gone. Darci is gone and left him. Nana ran off with Vex. It's just Toby in this big empty town. Or is it?
Relationships: Past Steve Palchuk/Aja Tarron, Past Toby Domzalski/Darci Scott, Toby Domzalski/Steve Palchuk
Comments: 9
Kudos: 8





	Ethereal Hair

**Author's Note:**

> So we were talking about rarepairs in one of the ToA discords. Since I can't write rarepairs without being dramatic, here's a multi-chapter Stoby fic where they're the only ones left from their class in Arcadia five years later.

Toby sits with a basic strawberry martini in his hands, at the only semi-decent bar in Arcadia. As far as the name when it was just known as Gary's. Whatever the sign used to say has been long since forgotten. One of the lesser casualties of Gunmar's war. It's easy to forget how people actually died back then. They had been so busy fighting. Every day was a new battle. Another loss, another strategy. He hadn't even found out about the deaths until months after the fight. When school started back up and mourned all those lost in the two world-ending events that affected the town at large. The third claimed no one luckily.

Well it took Merlin's life but most of the town hadn't even met the man. So mourning him was left to the few who were aware of his existence. Of which really only Claire, Douxie, and Jim did. On the rest of them, Merlin had left enough of an impression, mostly negative.

"Hey!" Great. He had come during one of the busy times of the bar. When it's usually at half capacity. A majority of the patrons were college students around his age blowing off some steam on the weekend. It was almost finals week. Which probably made him the only twenty-one-year-old in town not worrying about grades.

"Hey! Can you hear me Domzalski?" Toby twists his head around to see an all to familiar blonde standing next to him. Turning his attention back to his drink Toby lazily responds.

"Yeah Steve I can see you."

"Is anyone sitting here?" Toby cringes but shakes his head.

"Not as far as I'm aware." Why was Steve even here? Talking to him? The taller man hops onto the black, stool. It squeaks as he gets comfortable.

"What are you drinking?" Steve leans over uncomfortably close. His shoulder pushes against Toby's.

"It's just a strawberry martini," Toby answers gently shoving him away. Steve shifts in his seat. Moving his arm up from Toby's and onto the shorter man's shoulders. Leaning in closer, Toby holds back what would have been a very audible groan. Why was he being so touchy? They were never really this close. Even all the way back in high school when they both ended up having to deal with that crazy shit.

"I wanna try it."

"You can order you're own." Toby side-eyes him. Steve looks down sadly at Toby's drink. Without another word he waves at the bartender. A young woman with short brunette hair, and dark brown eyes. She almost looks like Darcy. Almost. Her face is to diamond shape, and her eyes weren't pretty enough. With a heavy sigh, Toby looks back down at his glass. It's been almost a year. A whole fucking year and here he was. Same town, same house, still thinking about her. Darcy had broken up with him a few months during her sophomore year in college. They had been long distance in the last two of their five-year relationship. Everything was perfect then bam. Long-distance wasn't working out. She could have at least told him before he had packed for his visit.

"-ey! You listening Jumbo?" Okay that's it! He's not drunk enough to deal with Steve.

"When are you gonna stop calling me that?" Toby snaps back. Suddenly the back of his right hand collides with his drink. Strawberry martini everywhere! "Fuck!"

"Hey there," Steve sets down his drink. "Cool off man. It's not that serious."

Toby squeezes his eyes shut. Impatiently he slides off his stool. The bartender walks back overlooking cross. Of course, she was. His drink wasn't just all over the bar, but dripping everywhere. Pink syrup spills all over at least three clean glasses on the other side.

"Uh do you have a rag I could use to clean it up?" Nervously he leans against a clean part of the bar. Glaring daggers at him, she shakes her head.

"I've got it."

Toby nods patiently. "Thanks." Shuffling through his pockets, he finds his wallet buried in the bottom of his left butt pocket. Pulling out a tenner Toby makes sure to drop it past the bar, next to the glasses he dirtied. Before he can say sorry, she pockets the cash, and furiously wipes the mess. Turning back to Steve Toby waves. "Well this has been, something." With a shrug he starts towards the door. "Later Steve."

It takes a few moments

"What are you doing Steve?"

"Nothing. I just," Brown eyes dart around the street. They linger on something behind and above Toby. Distant, but real. Just like Claire's used to when on patrol.

"Something behind me?" Searching for any sign of a goblin, troll, or ghoul of any sorts.

"No, no, uh," Throwing his hands up Steve groans. "Nothing's behind you. I was just trying to think!"

"Oh." Toby looks back at Steve. An underwhelming feeling washes over him. Safety. When had safety started to feel like a bad thing? Chirping crickets fill the night. Over all they only add to the awkwardness of this moment. Toby looks down at his red shoes. Why was he even out here still? Nana wasn't home anymore. She moved out almost two years ago now. Right before he dropped out of college. So what was there to go home too? An empty house. A cat too old to make the intergalactic journey Nana had gone on.

With a heavy heart he realizes that it feels nicer standing on this semi-busy street in the dead of night. Waiting on his former high school bully, turned friend and ally, to find the words he's trying to beat out of his head. What was he doing here? Steve hasn't talked to him since their first year at Arcadia Oaks Academy. Even then they only hung out because it was just them left. Eli was gone. Jim and Claire? Gone. Krel had stayed for a few months after graduation. With everyone else gone though, and the thought of attending another school so soon, well he returned home. Which was probably the smarter option. Their tech and knowledge were years beyond Earth's anyways. So four months after graduation and there was no one left.

Then Steve stopped talking to him.

"So how have you been?"

"Let's skip the pleasantries."

"Oh uh,"

"What do you want Steve?"

"Nothing man I was just," nothing. That's how he finishes his sentence. Words trapped in that head even now Toby couldn't understand. Maybe a few more minutes of trying to, wouldn't hurt. Shaking his head, Toby leans back on the streetlight. Steve watches with nervous eyes. Once he realizes Toby isn't leaving he turns towards the street. They could just both be lonely. Not like it's the first time he's hung out with someone because they both just happened to be around with nothing better to do.

Weirdly Steve stays silent. Chewing on his bottom lip he stares aimlessly up at the pitch-black sky. There weren't even any obvious stars out. Well, one star was out. Light pollution is a terrible phenomenon. Taking away all of our little sights we get through the snow globe of or atmosphere. Stars were an escape. Mesmerizing little specks, stealing humans' fancies and giving them thousands of ways to escape. All without ever losing touch of the ground.

Jim used to stay up for hours with Toby. Their talks were about everything. One night it was only about stars. What kinds there are, legends behind he constellations, who cool it would be to see them up close one day. Both of them stupid kids, excitedly talking through the walkies-talkies Nana just got for his birthday. Jim got a book from the library. Once his mom was out at work he climbed out onto his roof. Toby spent the night leaning out his window, just listening. Sure the sky was beautiful, but Toby's eyes always wondered back down. From the myriad of stars delicately hanging in that wondrous black, night sky to his best friend with hair to match it.

Steve's hair probably wasn't as smooth as Jim's was. It wasn't nice looking the same way the night sky is either. Dirty blonde locks, slowly browning from years. His bangs are starting to curl up. Steve was no Jim. No one else could be. Still they were nice to look at. His hair was almost ethereal like in this less than sublime light. Fucking Steve. Even a streetlamp makes him look good. Not that that was a secret.

"Want to get out of here?"

"What?"

"My drink is ruined, and I don't think the bartender will let me back in for tonight. So do you want to get out of here?" Couldn't be more obvious. Toby watches as Steve just stares shocked. Come on it's a simple answer. Yes or no. It's not like him coming over is going to really change anything.

Toby was ready to just walk off when there's a sudden tug on his arm. Steve smiles down at him with such a tender look. Has anyone ever looked at him that way before? He becomes so swept up in a confusing barrage of thoughts that his arms unfurl at Steve's gentle tug. The taller man slips his hand down Toby's arm. Stopping only as their fingers intertwine. Taking the lead, Steve starts walking. Shocked still, Toby follows. He almost asks how Steve knows the roads to his house, but there was little time.

As soon as their feet hit the front steps this awkward dance kicked into a completely different gear. Which of them started it, Toby wasn't sure. It could've been himself. Those soft brown eyes were so, well, and his grip was strong. Steady. The softest part of him was his lips. Toby could barely pull out his house keys, let alone keep his hands steady enough to unlock the front door. It was like something clicked on that walk. A moment of change. Or was it familiarity? Yearning for something neither had felt for so long.

Steve moves down to kiss his neck. The tickling sensation making Toby laugh. Finally, there's a click as he manages to unlock the door. A lousy kick shuts it barely. It was all Toby could attempt from up in Steve's arms. Without much effort somehow Steve gets them both all the way up the stairs. Apparently those arms didn't just look muscly. It makes Toby want to take up training again. Not that there as much left to protect Arcadia from anymore.

The clumsiness starts once they're back in his room. Not that the mess of clothes and limbs was much of a problem at all.


End file.
